Arizona County Lawyer Contacted Sheriff About Threat From Kari Lake Campaign: Report

A top attorney for Arizonas Maricopa County told The Washington Post that he contacted law enforcement authorities about what he considered a threat from the campaign of losing GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake .

Lakes campaign and the Republican National Committee have denied the accusation.

The clash occurred during a phone call Nov. 14 as Lake was projected to lose to Democratic rival, Katie Hobbs . At one point a Republican National Committee lawyer on the call demanded rapid answers from the county attorney on a number of issues. The county includes vote-heavy Phoenix.

The RNC attorney, who was identified as Benjamin Mehr, underscored that there were a lot of irate people out there and that Lakes campaign cant control them, recalled the county attorney, Tom Liddy.

Liddy, a lifelong Republican who heads the countys office for civil litigation, told the Post on Friday that he considered the comment a threat, and informed county Sheriff Paul Penzone and his boss, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell.

At one point, Liddy told Mehr: Let me tell you something, Ben, it sounds like youre threatening me which Meher denied.

But Liddy reiterated: If I dont get these answers to you quickly, youre not going to be able to tell the crazy people that Ive been helpful. I dont give a fuck. Is that clear enough? ... no more threats.

The call was secretly recorded by the Lake campaign, which posted two minutes of the 12-minute call on Twitter . The campaign did not respond to Post requests to release the entire recording.

The posted recording did not include the threat reported by Liddy, but it did include Mehrs denial that he threatened Liddy. It also included Liddys summary of the threat, and his no more threats admonishment to Mehr.

We've asked Maricopa County for answers.

This is what we get in return.pic.twitter.com/ENKq4hTnMc

Kari Lake War Room (@KariLakeWarRoom) November 18, 2022","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Kari Lake War Room","author_url":"https://twitter.com/KariLakeWarRoom","cache_age":86400,"description":"We've asked Maricopa County for answers. This is what we get in return.pic.twitter.com/ENKq4hTnMc Kari Lake War Room (@KariLakeWarRoom) November 18, 2022\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":640,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/ext_tw_video_thumb/1593708097020858369/pu/img/q7houq-XdzP_JLof.jpg:large","thumbnail_width":640,"title":"Kari Lake War Room on Twitter","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/KariLakeWarRoom/status/1593726111338225664","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"us","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"6379a5aae4b062ba9ec85719","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/entry/kari-lake-attorney-threat-law-enforcement-tom-liddy_n_6379a5aae4b062ba9ec85719","entryTagsList":"2022-elections,arizona,kari-lake","sectionSlug":"politics","deptSlug":"politics-news","sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"crime","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.politics","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"https://img.connatix.com/b41e5372-5e70-42ad-8355-f46837a32eae/1_th.jpg?crop=480:270,smart&width=480&height=270&format=jpeg&quality=60&fit=crop","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":8},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"6379a5aae4b062ba9ec85719","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"2022 elections","slug":"2022-elections","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/2022-elections","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/2022-elections","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/2022-elections"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"2022 Elections","slug":"2022-elections","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/2022-elections"},{"name":"Arizona","slug":"arizona","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/arizona","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/arizona","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/arizona"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"U.S. News","slug":"us-news"},"topic":{"title":"Arizona","slug":"arizona","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/arizona"},{"name":"Kari Lake","slug":"kari-lake","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/kari-lake","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/kari-lake","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/kari-lake"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/kari-lake"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}">

We've asked Maricopa County for answers.

This is what we get in return.pic.twitter.com/ENKq4hTnMc
Kari Lake War Room (@KariLakeWarRoom) November 18, 2022

Lake has refused to concede the race for governor. She tweeted Thursday: We are still in the fight .

Your Support Has Never Been More Critical

Other news outlets have retreated behind paywalls. At HuffPost, we believe journalism should be free for everyone.

Would you help us provide essential information to our readers during this critical time? We can't do it without you.

Can't afford to contribute? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.

You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you.

Whether you give once or many more times, we appreciate your contribution to keeping our journalism free for all.

Whether you give just one more time or sign up again to contribute regularly, we appreciate you playing a part in keeping our journalism free for all.

Support HuffPost

The former candidate has complained that several people could not vote for her because of problems at polling places, and posted their complaints on Twitter. But The New York Times reported Saturday that 34 voters reached by the newspaper who allegedly had problems said they did cast a vote.

Only one voter contacted claimed she was not given an opportunity to vote, but she said she turned up as the polling spot was closing, the Times reported. Three others said they had problems with their voter registration. And in seven other accounts reviewed by the newspaper, it was unclear whether voters had cast ballots or believed their vote had not been counted properly, the Times reported.